Beginning from the End
by LovelyandPeaceful
Summary: Daryl's gaze flicked from her lips to her eyes, blue eyes staring up into his. "An' what if he finds out?" Her brow furrowed as she took a small step closer toward him. "You're seriously more concerned with my brother finding out rather than take advantage of what I'm offering you here?" Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to lose his best friend after all. (DarylxOC)
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya! So this is my first ever TWD fanfic and surprise surprise, it's yet another DarylxOC fic. Not like you've ever seen one of those on this site, right? Well, I hope you'll be so kind as to take a look at my story here and feel free to let me know what you think about it, but please be gentle on my fragile little soul. This story will take place a little bit before the first season and will focus on our boy Daryl Dixon and my girl Leah Murphy. Thanks for taking the time to read, and on with the story!**

XXXXX

Fingers combed themselves through long, black locks as Leah Murphy tried once more to get through to the hospital's nurse's station on the landline phone in her grandparent's house. It had been a long, exhausting weekend and she honestly wasn't looking forward to a 12-hour shift, but it was all part of it. Another day, another dollar as her brother always said.

"Are you sure you should be tryin' to work your shift today? You've only just gotten over that nasty bout of food poisoning."

Blue eyes blinked before they softened at the concern in the older woman's voice. Leah glanced over her shoulder to give her grandmother a smile and firm nod. "I know you're worried, Meemaw, but I've already missed too many shifts at the hospital as it is." She chuckled before trying to dial the number to the hospital once again to make sure she was still scheduled to work the morning shift of the ER. "I promise I'm feeling a lot better than I was yesterday."

Her Meemaw huffed and shook her head, mumbling under her breath about how stubborn both her grandchildren were and Leah couldn't help but laugh under her breath. Her Meemaw was a feisty woman and if she had inherited her stubborn attitude from anybody, it would have had to be her Meemaw.

But she'd never tell her that.

Leah frowned as she once again got a busy tone from the nurses' station where she normally clocked in at. She glanced up at the clock and sure enough, it was 6 AM. She knew the others nurses already there sometimes liked to goof off and have fun, but there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn't have been able to reach the nurses' station.

"That's weird," Leah muttered before hanging the landline up.

"What's weird, Leah girl?"

Leah couldn't help but smile as her grandfather entered the room and took his usual spot at the table, while he waited for his wife to fix his plate for breakfast. "It's nothing too serious, Pops. I just can't seem to get through to the nurses' station and I need to make sure I'm still on to work this morning."

"Well, I'd say it wouldn't be too awful if you weren't able to go into work today. You know me an' your Meemaw have enjoyed havin' you around the past few days full time. Seems like we don't ever get to see you much, all you do is work, work, work. Even your brother takes a day off now 'n again."

Leah had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Pops derision. "You know I love you and Meemaw more than life itself, but you also know I've got to go into work when they schedule me so I don't lose my job. And don't even get me started on Logan and his jobs." She rolled her eyes at the mention of her older brother. As much as Leah loved him, he absolutely knew how to drive her crazy at times.

"Yes, dear, but didn't you say that there had been a spell of odd deaths at the hospital recently? I just don't feel comfortable with you bein' around so much death and gloom all th' time." Marie Murphy returned to the kitchen with a plate of toast, setting it in front of her husband's place. "Why, even your brother feels the same way as us, says that there's somethin' odd goin' on in town and lots of people have been just droppin' over dead for no reason."

Leah felt her brow furrow, worried because the hospital had been trying their best to keep citizens from finding out about the odd deaths that had been occurring around the area lately. The majority of people that had been brought into the hospital had all had mysterious bites on their person, but the actual cause of the fevers, chills and eventual death had yet to be determined.

"Listen," Leah slowly began, slipping an arm around each of her grandparent's shoulders. "I promise y'all, nothing is going to happen. I work with some of the best physicians in the state of Georgia, and if something were really wrong, they would let the staff know first." Her lips curved up into a slow smile before she leaned over to kiss Pops temple. "Now, I've got to get going. Obviously they're super swamped and can't be bothered to answer the phone at the nurse's station, but I'll call you once I've made it in and I'm safely at work."

Marie began wringing her hands together, obviously fretting at the thought of letting her granddaughter go out into danger she so worried about. "B-But, your brother says-"

"Meemaw, Logan doesn't work in the medical field and frankly has no clue what is really going on. Now I swear, nothing is going to hurt me." Leah was trying her hardest not to sound snippy, but listening to her Meemaw worry herself to death was starting to get old.

She reached for the doorknob of the front entrance, glancing over her shoulder to call out to her grandparents once more. "I'll call you once I make it into work. Love y'all!" Leah pushed the door open and immediately shrieked at the sight of what could only be described as a corpse.

The face, whom she recognized as one of their neighbors, contorted into an ugly snarl and latched onto Leah's arm, head leaning ever closer to Leah's. Her mind began moving at a thousand miles a second, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. What she realized immediately, was that this person was no longer of a sound mind and she had to free herself. "NO! STOP! Meemaw, help me!"

Marie, realizing what was happening, screamed and grabbed onto the back of Leah's scrub top as she tried to pull her granddaughter to safety. "Oh Lord! Joel! Get the shotgun!"

Leah could see the ugly visage getting closer and closer, obviously trying to bite into her flesh and all she could do was sob and try to yank her arm away.

Then, before Leah knew it, it was over; a knife was protruding from the temple of the creature. It released her and she fell to her knees, sobbing and clinging to Meemaw for dear life.

"Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes."

Leah tried to catch her breath, glancing up to get a look at her savior only to be met with the smirking countenance of one Daryl Dixon, her brother's best and one of his only friend's. "D-Daryl? Wh-What the hell are you doin' here?" Needless to say, Leah and Daryl didn't have the same friendship that he and her brother had and there was absolutely no love lost between the two.

Daryl snorted and yanked his knife from the creature, depositing the blade back into its sheath against his side. "Seems to me like you should be thankin' me for showin' up when I did, otherwise you'dve been gnawed on by that geek and then I'dve had to put you outta your misery."

Blue eyes narrowed as Leah glowered up at Daryl. "What are you talking about ' _put me out of my misery_ '? And what the hell is a geek?!"

Daryl opted to ignore Leah, instead turning to help Marie get inside the home. "Your brother shouldn't be too far behind, 'n you can ask him for yourself."

Leah glared at Daryl's back before trying to get to her feet, shaking and wobbly still. What the hell had just happened? This was the kind of shit that only occurred in horror movies, or was she finally losing her mind after the week she had had at the hospital with all the strange deaths recently?

"Leah! Thank God you're alright!"

A pair of arms wound themselves around Leah, clinging to her as though they were afraid something awful would happen should they let go of her. It was then she realized who the voice and arms belonged to, and she was so glad to know her big brother was alright and right there with her. "L-Logan! Wha…"

"Leah, there ain't no time to explain. The whole world's gone to hell and I've gotta get you, Meemaw and Pops outta here while we can still leave."

Leah blinked and finally gathered enough strength to push her brother at arm's length to see just what was going on. "Logan," she frowned, blue eyes meeting blue while Logan frowned right back down at her. Had her brother lost his ever-loving mind? "What're you talking about? We can't just leave our home for no reason. Not until you tell me just what's going on."

Logan grunted and quickly shook his head, grabbing onto his sister's arm. "No time to explain, I'll try to once we get into the truck. I'll need you and Meemaw to pack food and supplies and I'll go with Pops to get as much ammo and guns as we can get in the truck."

"But what about the hospital?! I can't just leave, they might need my help! Logan, wait!" But Logan was already running toward the back of the house, leaving Leah alone with her Meemaw and Daryl.

"The hospital's burnin' to th' ground, so no point in us even botherin' with it."

Leah whipped her head around to find Daryl looking through the blinds on the windows, as though looking for something or someone. She almost thought she had heard him wrong; after all, there was no way the hospital would be on fire. Daryl had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

Almost as if he could sense what she was thinking, Daryl glanced over his shoulder before giving a quick jerk of his head, indicating he wanted Leah to join him by the window. "Look out here; see what me 'n your brother're talkin' about."

She was skeptical, but decided to go along with what Daryl was asking of her. She peeked through the blinds Daryl had opened and gasped in horror at what she witnessed. Lining the streets were the slowly shuffling forms of their neighbors, people she had grown up with and knew so well; only they weren't the same neighbors she had known for so long. Their skin was pale, eyes sunken in, and the noises they were making… Groans and moans that weren't quite pain-filled, but nothing Leah had heard in the several years she had worked as a nurse either.

"Wh… What's happening?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she forced herself to look away from the scene. "Daryl, what the hell is going on?"

Daryl gave Leah a long, hard look before tearing his gaze away. "The end of the world is all I can figure," he bluntly offered, shrugging his shoulders as though that were the end of that discussion.

All of a sudden, a scream pierced the air and Leah and Daryl both turned their attention once more to what was happening outside the window. There, on the sidewalk, trying to crawl away from the slowly shuffling bodies close behind her, was the form of one of her neighbors and Leah gasped. She knew the woman well and she tried to run for the door before being stopped by a grip on her arm.

"What th' fuck do you think you're doin'?" Daryl hissed, keeping Leah right at his side. "There ain't no point in tryin' to help her now."

Leah tried to pry herself away from Daryl, pointing to the woman now trying to crawl away from the things that were once her friends and neighbors. "I am a nurse! In case you didn't realize that, Daryl," she hissed his name out. "It's my job to help when others need it, now let me go so I can help!"

Daryl shook his head, motioning for her to look outside the window once more. "She's a goner. Sorry, but if I let you out, you'd be dead just like her. Your brother'd never forgive me if I let you die like that."

"But-!"

The shrieks and cries for help became louder and Leah peered out the blinds only to find that the woman was now covered by the figures that had only previously been stalking after her. One by one, they began to tear into her flesh with their teeth and the sight almost made Leah gag.

"No," she whispered, unable to believe the horror she witnessed. "What's going on?"

The sound of a horn honking tore Leah from her thoughts. Daryl's face relaxed and he quickly grinned. "Finally, Merle made it."

Wait, Merle Dixon was here now too? The end of the world really was happening, wasn't it?

Leah shook her head, jerking her arm free from Daryl before turning and bounding through the house to find her family. What she had just witnessed, that was absolutely real and she had to now make sure her grandparents and brother were alright. Logan was right, and that meant that Leah had to pack as much as she could in the short time frame they now had.

Marie was already dragging several garbage bags filled with different foods and medical supplies. "Meemaw, let me help you with that!" Leah reached to grab onto a few of the bags and began dragging them to the front door. Leah in turn rushed for her bedroom, grabbing onto a few mementos before stuffing them into her pockets. Something told her that it would be a very long time before they were able to come back to their home and Leah just had to make sure she had things that meant the world to her. Like a picture of her parents.

"Leah! Hurry up, we gotta get goin'!"

Her brother's voice rang through the house and Leah tore out of her room, hurrying to the front door where everyone was now waiting. Both Logan and Pops were brandishing guns and Daryl had his knife in hand.

"Leah, I need you to make sure you and Meemaw get into my truck," Logan grabbed onto her shoulder, eyes boring into hers. "And don' you dare look back, you hear me? My priority is makin' sure you and Meemaw get to safety."

She visibly shuddered, feeling tears prick at the edges of her eyes. Leah quickly reached up to wipe at her eyes. "This is for real, huh?" When Logan gave a solemn nod, she sucked in a deep breath, reaching for Meemaw's hand. "Alright."

Logan nodded his head and then looked to Daryl. The other gave a jerky nod and quickly flung the door open, both he and Logan moving headfirst into the mass of undead bodies. Leah tugged on Marie's hand and the two women ran as fast as they could toward Logan's truck. "Meemaw! Get in!" Leah hoisted her grandmother into the backseat of the truck before turning and panicking when she couldn't see Pops.

"POPS!" She screamed, head whipping back and forth in an attempt to find her grandfather's location. Then she finally spotted him, several of the shuffling undead closing in on him. It was as if time slowed down for Leah, she looked all around, trying to find something, anything, to help her Pops out.

It seemed like all was lost until she looked toward her brother and Daryl's direction. Leah and Daryl shared a glance before Daryl reached over his shoulder and threw a blade in her direction. It fell to the ground, but Leah quickly scrambled to pick it up, rushing toward the hoard that was getting closer and closer to her grandfather.

"Pops! I'm gonna get you out of here!" She cried out, stabbing the first form in the back of the skull before watching it fall. Over and over she did the same thing, not caring about the blood that covered her clothes and hands, until finally she was able to get to Pops. She reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, tugging him toward the truck where Meemaw was waiting for them all.

Leah waited until her grandfather was in the backseat with her grandmother before she collapsed onto the ground, heaving for breath while letting the first of many unshed tears fall down her face. This couldn't be real, this just couldn't be happening to their family.

"It's real alright," she heard a mumble, barely registering that Daryl was trying to help her to her feet again. "This is our lives now. So you'd best get used to it if you wanna survive."

Survive? Was that what they were supposed to do now in the short span of a few hours? Leah shivered, still leaning against Daryl as she tried to regain her footing. "But… But what do we do now? Where do we go from here?"

Daryl chanced a glance over to his brother, still waiting for Daryl to join him from the looks of it. "We heard Atlanta's our best chance right now. So that's where we're headed."

Atlanta? It made sense to Leah, since they had some of the largest hospitals in the country. If there was a chance for survival for their group, then Atlanta would surely have it.

"What're we waiting for then," Leah muttered under her breath. "Let's get the hell outta here."


	2. Chapter 2

"What the hell is takin' so long? I thought we'd be through by now."

Leah glanced over to find her brother muttering under his breath again. It had been three full days since their family left their home behind in order to make their way to Atlanta and they still hadn't made it to the city. They were right outside the city limits, but they were still so far away from their end goal.

Traffic had been completely backed up for hours, and everyone in the truck was getting antsy. Leah couldn't lie, she was getting concerned too, but knew better than to let anyone realize this. She had to be the strong one for not only her grandparents, but Logan as well. Her brother was trying his hardest to be the rock their family needed, and Leah knew she had to try and do the same for him while they figured out what was going to happen next.

"I dunno," Leah murmured quietly before reaching a hand out and gently resting it against Logan's shoulder. "But you can't let this get to you. We'll be safe and sound once we get to the check-in point. There'll be food, shelter, and hopefully the hospitals will be up and running still so I can offer any medical help where it's needed."

"Your sister's right." Both siblings turned their attention to their grandparents in the backseat of the truck. Marie was smiling softly at the pair while holding onto her husband's hand with her own. "We'll make it safely to Atlanta, I just know we will. And once we do, the military will take care of everything and this will all be a dreadful memory before we know it."

Leah and Logan shared a quick glance, Leah giving her older brother a quick smile. If her grandmother could have faith that everything would be alright, then she could at least try to do the same.

"Hey, man! I need t' talk to ya!"

Blue eyes narrowed at the all-too familiar sound of Daryl's voice interrupting her thoughts. Damn him and that annoying as hell brother of his. All the Dixon brothers had done the entire road trip was find things to complain about and try and distract her brother with stupid shit when he needed to focus on his family.

Logan unfortunately, didn't see things the way his sister did. In fact, he was more than happy to do whatever his best friend and his brother wanted of him, even if that meant it annoyed the hell out of his sister in the process.

"This better be good," Leah muttered under her breath while turning her attention back to the road ahead, cars still at a complete stop. But just because she refused to give either Dixon the time of day, didn't mean she couldn't still listen in on what was happening.

Logan popped his head outside the window and rested his arm against the outside of the door. "What's up? Y'all find out anything?"

Daryl's head shook back and forth. "Naw, jus' the same ol' shit. Nobody knows what the hell's goin' on, an' it looks like th' damn traffic's not gonna move for nothin'."

"No shit, dumbass," Leah murmured, eyes never leaving the road. Seriously, he wanted to bother her brother for something so obvious like that? Why couldn't he have had some actual news for them that would have helped their group out?

"Th' hell's wrong witchu, girlie? You gotta problem with Darylina's report? What, it ain't the news you wanted to hear?"

Leah whipped her head around to find fucking Merle Dixon, smirking and leaning against the side of the passenger door. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she motioned for him to move away from her window. "Move it, Merle. Just being in your presence is causing my IQ to drop." By God, Daryl got on her nerves, but Merle, well _he_ was an absolute asshat that she wouldn't shed a tear over if he fell over dead right then.

A brow slowly quirked up as Merle's face screwed up into a bitter scowl. "Well well well," he slowly drawled out. "Looks like th' kitten's got some bite to her. Ol' Merle's always liked a woman with a bit o' spunk to her."

If Merle thought he was going to charm her pants off, he had another thing coming. "Listen, asswipe, if you don't get away from me, I swear-" Leah bit out just as Logan reached over his sister to get right in Merle's face.

"Back the hell away from my sister, Merle," Logan growled, blue eyes clouding over. "Go bother someone else 'fore I stick you like a pig."

Merle's eyes slowly widened, jaw opening slightly before he shook his head and shoved his head inside the window of the truck. "Th' fuck did you just say t' me? Now, I know you ain't tellin' me what t' do, 'specially when your sweet, lil sister didn' seem to mind my attention."

Maybe it was the fact that the entire world was going to shit around them, or maybe it was because they hadn't eaten since before they left their hometown, but what Merle just said was the catalyst that set something off within Logan and his eyes flashed with something akin to pure rage. "Are you deaf as well as fuckin' stupid? I told you to back th' fuck off!" Logan snapped before throwing his door open and jumping out of the truck.

Wait, what the hell was happening? "Logan!" Leah watched in horror as her brother stormed around the truck, seeming ready to actually fight the older Dixon brother. It wasn't until she heard her grandmother tearfully plead from the backseat for someone to end the fighting, that Leah finally jumped from her seat. "Logan, stop it!"

Leah flew out of the truck. "Logan!" She ran to her brother, who was exchanging blows with Merle by this point. "Logan, please! He's not worth it!" She tried to tug on his arm, but he quickly and easily pulled himself free before throwing another punch at Merle's face.

"C'mon, Merle, stop th' stupid shit! You're both gonna get us all killed!" Daryl too tried to talk some sense into his brother, but it appeared that the pair was done talking.

"Fuck off, Daryl," Merle's lips curled up into an ugly, toothy grin. "Yer friend's an annoyin' prick, an' I've been waitin' for th' chance to take this fucker down for a while now."

By now, Leah's grandparents were fully aware of the fight happening right outside their vehicle. "Please, boys, don't fight," Marie's tearful pleading from the confines of the truck did nothing to placate the pair as they continued to throw their fists at one another.

Leah was at a loss for words. Her hands moved to her head, fingers clutching at dark hair as she tried to make sense of what was happening before her eyes. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see that Daryl was now standing right beside her. Whether it was in the heat of the moment, or an act of desperation, Leah whirled around and grasped onto his arm. "Daryl, please do something!"

Daryl jerked slightly as Leah grabbed his arm, glancing at the fingers that now curled around his bicep, before his eyes narrowed and he grunted. Freeing his arm from Leah's grasp, Daryl trudged over to the spot where Logan and Merle were duking it out. "Hey, c'mon man, knock it off," he tried pulling on Merle's shoulder in an attempt to pry his brother away from his longtime friend.

Leah continued to watch with bated breath, just hoping and praying that Merle didn't pull some unexpected shit and seriously injure her brother.

The scream came from out of nowhere, and suddenly the fight broke up. All heads in their group turned to the direction of the noise, and Leah released a high-pitched shriek. "They're here!" She pointed in horror as numerous bodies shuffled in their direction. "Logan," she yelled for her brother and motioned for the truck. "We have to get Meemaw and Pops outta here! Find someplace safe!"

It only took a split second for Logan to move into action. He quickly opened the back doors of the truck, helping his grandparents out before moving to get the supplies from the back of the truck. Leah hurried to help her brother, grabbing onto as many bags as she possibly could.

It was pure pandemonium all around them, people screaming and holding onto their families and whatever rations they had as they all began to make a beeline for the woods.

"Follow them!" Logan's voice was the only one that Leah could hear amongst all the bedlam happening at that moment. Logan quickly led his grandparents into a clearing, following behind the crowd that had already made their way into a small clearing.

Leah released a sigh of relief, thankful that her brother had gotten her grandparents away. Shaking her head, she grabbed onto a last small bag, which carried important medical supplies, before hopping back onto the ground. Now that she had everything that they might need for a short stint in the woods, she was ready to bolt after the others that had run ahead of her.

She didn't notice the hole in the ground as she began to run toward the part of the woods she had seen her family run into. Her foot sank into the hole and her ankle twisted with a painful snap, her body collapsing onto the ground. Leah screamed from a mixture of pain and fear, now acutely aware that the dead were now closing in on her. She looked up to find Merle quickly running around her and reached out to him.

"Merle, stop! Help me!" She reached an arm out to him, praying silently that he would grab onto her and pull her to safety, but Merle only stared down at her before sneering.

"Wha'? Now that you need ol' Merle's help, now you wanna give me th' time of day?" Merle smirked and Leah felt all her hope shrivel away in that moment.

He couldn't be serious. Surely he wasn't actually planning on leaving her right there to fend for herself. But as Leah watched him chuckle and trod away, she knew that that was exactly what he intended to do. "NO!" She shrieked. "Merle, you son of a bitch! Don't leave me here! P-Please…" But her pleas were left unheeded and she allowed her arm to hit the ground as a sob escaped. Leah's sobs only grew louder as she felt the dead slowly close in on her.

XXXXX

Logan bent over, hands planted on his knees as he panted and gasped for breath. He had managed to get his grandparents safely away from the oncoming herd of corpses, and it appeared as though there were about two dozen or so other living bodies that had managed to make it away from the ones trying to eat them all alive.

"Logan!"

Logan recognized Daryl's voice and managed to straighten himself out in time to find Merle close on his brother's heels. "Great," Logan breathed out, a weak grin sliding across his face. "Looks like we're all here and accounted for, except…" He frowned, knowing something just wasn't right, but couldn't quite figure out what it was…

"Wh-Where's Leah?" All eyes turned to Marie as she clung to Joel. She was shaking like a leaf and tears threatened to spill over as she waited for an answer. "Where's our Leah girl? She did make it too, right?"

Logan's jaw tightened and he turned toward Merle, the one who was the straggler bringing up the rear. "That's a damn good question. Merle," he stomped toward Merle, who didn't appear the least bit repentant. "Where the hell is my little sister?"

The elder Dixon merely shrugged and looked around. "Ya don' see her here, do ya? So how th' fuck should I know where th' bitch went?"

Logan saw red and his blood boiled. "What th' hell did you just say?" He was now toe to toe with Merle, itching for the chance to beat the absolute shit out of Merle Dixon. "Where is my little sister, Merle? By God, if you don' fuckin' tell me where she is, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what, boy?" It seemed Merle wasn't about to back down from the challenge, especially since they had left their earlier fight unfinished. "Huh? Whatchu gonna do 'bout it? Maybe it'd be best if your sister didn't make it, you ever think 'bout that? She's weak, spineless, and ain't made for survivin' this world th' way it is," he spat and that was all Logan could take.

Logan drew back and threw another punch at the bastard that had more than likely just left his sister behind with no thought for her safety.

"Logan," Marie tearfully pleaded with her grandson. "Please, don't do this… We have to find Leah!"

"I'll go back for her!" Daryl yanked Logan off his brother and shoved him to the side. "I promise, I'll go find Leah an' bring her back to th' group. So y'all just calm your asses down and wait for us!" He threw his crossbow over his shoulder and ran into the direction they had just come from.

Even though he and Leah could hardly stand to be in the same vicinity, that was still his best friend's little sister and he had to make sure she was alright. Daryl hurried as fast as he could, ignoring the people that he passed as he ran back toward the truck where he last saw Leah. There he found her on the ground, crawling away as fast as she could with geeks heading right for her.

"Fuckin' hell," Daryl muttered under his breath before pulling his bow from his back, using a bolt to take down the one closest to Leah. "Leah!" He watched as her head snapped up and silently hoped that she hadn't been harmed by one of the geeks. He rushed to Leah's side, taking a blade from his back before sinking it into the skull of the ones closing in on them.

"Daryl," Leah sobbed, throwing her arms around him, unable to stop shaking. "Thank God you came back for me. I-I… I don't…"

It was obvious she was in shock and Daryl knew he had to get her back to the woods, back to her family, so he did the only thing he knew to do in order to get them both safely to the others.

Leah's eyes snapped open as she suddenly felt herself being lifted and found that Daryl was picking her up and hoisting her onto his back. "Wh-Wha…"

"No time," he barked at her from over his shoulder. "Gotta get to the others." And without another word, Daryl carried Leah into the woods, hurrying as fast as he could back to the place where he left their group.

Leah quietly tightened her grip around Daryl's shoulders. She knew that had Daryl gotten there even a few seconds later, she would have been dead. For that, she was eternally grateful and knew she could never thank Daryl enough for actually coming back for her when he didn't have to. "Daryl," she slowly began. "I just…"

"Save it for later," he grunted, adjusting Leah slightly. "We're almost there."

"R-Right," she managed to speak up, although it wasn't anything more than a whisper.

"We'll be back there soon, gotta make sure you get back to your family first."

Yeah, Daryl was right, there would be plenty of time for Leah to thank him after they made it back to her family in one piece. All she could do in that moment was trust Daryl, and it surprised Leah to find that she honestly did. She couldn't believe she was admitting this to herself, but she actually was putting all of her trust and faith in Daryl Dixon, a man under normal circumstances she could hardly stand to be around, only put up with because he was Logan's closest friend. But now, now Daryl was her best shot at getting back to her family in one piece.

"Thank you," she murmured against the back of Daryl's neck, unable to help but grin as she watched Daryl visibly shudder.

"Shuddup," Daryl growled under his breath, and Leah's grin only widened.

XXXXX

 **So there's chapter 2! What did y'all think? A big thank you to both people who left reviews on the first chapter, and if you enjoyed this chapter, then feel free to leave a nice review or comment. It would make my day! My plan for next chapter is to go into more detail about Leah and her family's time at the survivor's camp, and maybe even let her and Daryl have some actual one on one time. ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl's eyes narrowed as he focused on his mark. The doe was completely unaware that she had people watching her every move, ready to strike when the time was right. He lifted his crossbow, keeping his aim steady before pulling on the trigger, watching with rapt attention as the bolt sprang forward and hit its intended target. The doe went down and after several long moments, all movements ceased.

"Finally! Now we can eat somethin' other than squirrel an' rabbit tonight!"

Daryl's lips quirked up into a half-smirk, glancing over his shoulder to find Logan grinning from ear to ear. "Wasn't nothin'," he mumbled. "Anyone could'a done it."

Logan clapped a hand to his friend's back before standing to his feet. "Nah man, we really couldn't do this without you. I mean, I'm sure Pops could manage, but could you imagine Meemaw or Leah out here, tryin' to kill somethin' so we can eat?"

Daryl grunted before slipping his crossbow over his shoulder. "Naw, can't really imagine Leah doin' much of anythin' if it's gotta do with the outdoors."

The thought of Logan's little sister, the girl he had known since they were all kids and had practically watched grow up, doing manual labor of any kind just wasn't something he could picture. Leah was the type of woman to try and use her mind rather than her hands; she was a healer, not a fighter. Daryl only hoped that Leah's gentle nature and desire to help everyone she could wouldn't be her downfall.

The fact that they had almost lost Leah so early on in the hell that was their new normal, it bothered Daryl more than he cared to admit. Not to mention that his brother had been the reason Leah almost hadn't made it out… He tried hard to shake the image of a terrified, defenseless Leah out of his head as he knelt down to pick the doe up and sling her across his shoulders.

Logan kept telling Daryl that he wasn't mad at him, was incredibly grateful that Daryl had gone back to rescue Leah, but his longtime friend had made it perfectly clear that he was done with Merle shortly after Daryl had rescued Leah from certain death.

 _"If he were on fire, I wouldn' stop to piss on him. I've put up with a lot of shit from Merle over th' years, but I swear to you, I ain't fuckin' with your brother no more, Daryl. After what he did to Leah, leavin' her behind th' way he did, don' expect me to lift a finger to help him if he needs it."_

Daryl couldn't blame Logan one bit for feeling the way he did. Even Daryl was horrified that Merle had just left Leah out there to die the way he did, but that was just Merle…

"Hey, Earth to Dixon."Daryl blinked, eyes narrowed as he shoved Logan's hand that was waving in front of his face away. Logan chuckled and slipped his rifle over his shoulder while they began their trek back to the camp. "I was worried I'd lost ya there for a minute. Where'd you go, man?"

Daryl forced himself to swallow and shook his head. "Don' worry 'bout it. It ain't nothin' important. Jus' thoughts wanderin' off for no reason." He shrugged his shoulder, refusing to admit that his thoughts had been on Logan's baby sister.

"Yeah," Logan murmured as he led the way back to the camp. "I get it. I catch myself spacin' out too sometimes. 'Specially here recently."

"Guess in these times, it ain't too hard to do."

Logan grunted and Daryl let out a small sigh of relief as the conversation soon switched to possible new routes to get into the city, to try and find more much-needed supplies for their survival. Logan talked about going with the next group that was supposed to head into the city, and he worried that his family wouldn't support his decision.

Daryl appreciated the distraction. After all, the less Daryl thought about his best friend's sister, the better for them all.

XXXXX

It was quiet, so very quiet, and for the first time in weeks, Leah was at peace with her surroundings. As she emerged from her tent, she took notice of everything happening around her. The world may have been going to shit all around them, but it amazed Leah how people from all walks of life and backgrounds could come together in order to survive.

"Mornin', Leah!"

The brunette turned in the direction the voice came from and lifted a hand to wave at Lori Grimes and her son, Carl. "Morning, Lori!"

In living among other survivors in the camp, Leah had gotten to know everyone there and liked everyone for the most part. She especially liked Lori and Carl, even if she found their companion Shane on the unnerving side. There was just something about that man she didn't care for, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it…

"Oh look, Leah girl! The boys are finally back, an' it looks like they've brought us somethin' to eat!"

Leah was quickly torn from her musings at the sound of her Meemaw's voice. Her head snapped around and she released a sigh of relief at the sight of the duo emerging from the woods. Every time they left her line of vision, Leah feared that one or both Logan and Daryl wouldn't return to their camp in one piece. "Good," she murmured softly.

Both her grandparents were making their way toward Logan and Daryl and Leah quickly followed suit. Logan's wide grin was infectious and Leah couldn't help but return the smile, running up and throwing her arms around her brother. "I'm glad you two morons are safe and sound," she whispered in her brother's ear. Her arms tightened just slightly, relief flooding her very being as she felt his arms wind around her shoulders in turn.

Logan snorted and quickly released his sister, gently pressing his hand against the top of her head. "You should know better by now, I ain't gonna let anythin' happen to me or Daryl. Or to our family. Ain't that right?"

The question was posed to Daryl. "Whatever, man."

Leah glanced over her shoulder as Daryl snorted and dumped the deer onto the ground. She couldn't help but give a small smile. "Thanks Daryl," her lips quirked up into a smirk as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder in her brother's direction. "I know this one is helpless when it comes to doing anything useful. So on behalf of our family, I sincerely thank you for not letting my brother get himself killed."

"Th' hell, Leah?!"

Leah cackled as her brother reached out and mussed up her hair. Before the end of the world, if Logan had done something like that to mess with her, she would have shoved him away and told him how much a jerk he was being, but now… With everything around them so uncertain, Leah felt as though she could actually relax with her older brother.

"Well, well, well, looks like Darylina's actually done somethin' worthwhile."

The sound of Merle Dixon's voice made Leah's stomach churn and her fingers slowly curled into fists as she willed herself not to lose her shit on the jackass that had left her to die just a couple short weeks ago. Everyone was deathly silent as they watched Merle kneel down to inspect the doe that Daryl and Logan had brought back.

"It ain't much," Daryl mumbled under his breath. "We'll probably go back to hunt again after 'while, see what we can find."

Merle gave his younger brother a toothy grin. "Yup, it ain't much at all, but it'll do for now I s'ppose. What say you, Murphy family?"

Leah felt Logan's hand quickly grip her shoulder and her eyes narrowed as her gaze met Merle's. All of the rage she felt toward the older Dixon man came flooding back again, and before she could stop herself, the words were already out. "Go to hell, Merle." Without waiting for anyone to respond, she turned on her heel and stormed back to her tent.

"I think I'm with Leah girl on this," came the slow, lumbering response from Joel Murphy. "Marie, what say we go back to our tent and wait for the boys to cook dinner? I'm not much in the mood for conversation at the moment."

Marie Murphy quietly nodded and followed after her husband and granddaughter. Logan's glare darkened and he spat at the ground at Merle's feet before he too followed after his family to join them at their tents.

"Th' fuck did I do?" Merle snapped at Daryl, who in turn chose to ignore his brother.

"I love ya man," Daryl slowly began. "But you can be a real jackass sometimes." He reached for his hunting knife and began the process of skinning the doe.

XXXXX

Leah found herself glancing at all of the survivors that were gathered around the small fire that had been built. She could tell they were all trying to keep warm as the families huddled closer together, and her heart ached as she wished there were something she could do to help everyone.

For now, the only thing they could all do was wait and see what would happen next. There was a small group from the campsite that had made several trips into the city so far and they were planning on making another run the next day to see if there were still any usable supplies that could be brought back to the camp.

Logan had volunteered to go, and their grandparents were absolutely beside themselves at the thought of their only grandson running headfirst into unknown danger. She couldn't help but fear for her brother as well, but she also knew that they needed supplies badly. The camp was running dangerously low on everything and Leah knew that if there was any chance the group could bring back food or medical necessities, they needed to go ahead and take whatever they could from the city.

She let out a heavy breath and turned her gaze slightly to find young Sophia Peletier staring hungrily at the piece of meat still in Leah's hand. As soon as Leah's eyes met Sophia's, the young girl quickly whipped her head around, acting as though she hadn't been eyeing Leah's dinner.

Leah felt her heart clench at the sight and quickly stood to her feet, making her way around the fire to kneel at Sophia's side. She reached her hand out, silently offering her portion of meat to the girl. "I'm not hungry anymore, and I'd hate for this to go to waste."

Sophia's eyes widened and she stared up at her mother, as though asking permission to take the gift Leah was offering to her. Carol stared back at Sophia before turning her attention toward Leah. "We can't," she murmured quietly, eyes darting toward her husband to see what he had to say.

Blue eyes narrowed as she followed Carol's gaze. She had seen plenty of assholes just like Ed Peletier during her time as an ER nurse. Men who would abuse their poor families and when their spouses and children were brought into the hospital for care, they would give all kinds of excuses for why bruises and broken bones were there. Leah wasn't fooled one bit by Ed, and she'd be damned if that sorry excuse for a man kept her from helping his family out when he couldn't be bothered to do a single thing for them.

Again Leah pressed the meat into little Sophia's hand. "I insist. I'm full and can't eat another bite. I don't want it to go to waste." Leah smiled warmly as Sophia eagerly took the meat and tore into it.

"Fank joo!" She thanked Leah around mouthfuls of deer meat and Leah couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so welcome, Sophia. I'm just glad I found someone who was able to finish off what I couldn't."

Carol gave Leah a weak smile and Leah reached down, gently squeezing Carol's hand with her own. She wished there were something she could do, but sadly, she feared that Ed's violent tendencies and lack of care toward his family would wind up getting them all killed.

She stood to her feet and made her way back to her spot by her brother and grandparents. It wasn't long before others in the camp began to try and lighten the mood with funny stories and campfire songs, and it worked for a while, but one by one, each family and individual began to leave the fire and head to their own tents until the Murphy's and Daryl were the only ones left by the fire. Eventually, Meemaw and Pops too left the fire hand in hand and told their grandchildren not to stay up too late.

Shortly after their grandparents left, Logan stood to his feet and stretched his arms above his head. "I dunno 'bout you two, but I'm about to hit the sack. We got a busy day tomorrow."

Daryl snorted. "Alrigh' man, don' overdo it or anythin' like that. Wouldn' wantcha to sleep too hard." The sarcasm was obvious in Daryl's voice and Leah laughed as Logan gave his longtime friend the middle finger.

"Yeah, screw you too, buddy." With that, Logan waved at the pair and headed to his tent.

That left Leah and Daryl around the flames of the small fire. Neither one said a word, just stared silently into the dying embers. Leah quietly pulled her legs up to her chest, draping her arms over them before she quietly spoke up. "I know you're probably tired of me saying this, but thank you… For everything you've done for our family."

Daryl's brow furrowed. "I keep tellin' ya that you don't hafta keep sayin' that. Yer family's always been like my own; Logan's been like another brother to me, an' I couldn' let anythin' happen to y'all."

"Still," Leah's arms tightened around her legs. "I never would've thought you'd be the one to be here for us like this. It means a lot to have you still here." She swallowed hard, trying hard to keep her voice from cracking. "After Mama died when we were kids, it really helped Logan to have you always there for him."

When Joy Murphy had died, Leah had barely been five years old and her brother was almost sixteen. It had absolutely torn the family apart to lose their mother to cancer, and shortly after their mother died, their father left the family and they hadn't heard a word from him since.

"I just," Leah's head shook back and forth in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. She knew that Daryl was probably ready to end the conversation and go to bed, but she wasn't ready to go to her tent just yet. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts for another long night. "I just…"

"Remember when we were kids?"

Blue eyes blinked and Leah chanced a glance to find Daryl still staring hard at what was left of the fire. "Y-Yeah?" She slowly leaned forward, scooting just slightly closer to the fire.

A slow smirk made its way across Daryl's face as he quickly tossed a twig into the fire. "You used to always follow me an' Logan around, cryin' 'cause you wanted us to let you tag along with us an' we wouldn' let you."

Leah's eyes narrowed. "If I remember right, you two never would let me go anywhere with you. You were always afraid I'd cramp your style and keep you from getting girls." She rolled her eyes and chuckled at fond, distant memories. "I also remember you two weren't popular with the ladies at all until your twenties. And that was definitely no fault of mine."

"That ain't what we're talkin' about here," Daryl was quick to interject and Leah laughed. "You always said we were mean to you, but I don' think you realize just how much your brother loved and looked out for ya."

"What're you talking about?" Leah's head cocked slightly to one side and she continued to inch a little bit closer to Daryl. "You two hated having me around, and Logan still hardly ever talks to me. It wasn't until all this happened that he actually acted like he cared about me…" She frowned, trying not to remember all of the hateful conversations the pair had had over the past several years, specifically over the fact that she had gone away for college instead of staying in town and going to community college. He had always accused her of thinking she was better than their family, not wanting to take care of their grandparents and that just wasn't the case at all. Leah had just wanted to further her education so that she could be the best nurse she could be.

"Nah, after yer mom died and yer dad went away, he knew he had to protect you 'cause no one else would. You might've gotten on his nerves sometimes, but he loved you more than most big brothers would their kid sisters." Daryl met Leah's gaze. "An' if he finds out I'm tellin' you any of this, I'll deny it all."

Daryl took a deep breath and again turned his attention to the fire. "He protected you from all th' losers in our town that wanted to try an' get in your pants."

Wait, what? Leah's mouth slowly took an o shape. "Wh-What are you talking… There's no way Logan would-"

"You might not know it, but there were lots of guys that me an' Logan ran with that thought they had a shot with you. So, Logan beat the shit outta anyone that even tried to talk to you."

The way Daryl described her brother's protective side, a side that Leah had never seen for herself, it shocked her into complete silence. "After a while, the guys in town got the hint and let you be."

Leah was stunned, unable to believe everything she was told. "So all this time…" She slowly smiled as the realization hit her. "He really does love me."

"Yer lucky he loves you as much as he does."

She chuckled, still unable to stop smiling like a fool. "He wouldn't have had to worry about any of those losers. There was only one guy from home I ever had eyes for."

Now this was news to Daryl. He had never known Leah to date anyone from their town, or even act like she was interested in anyone, and now his curiosity was piqued. A brow arched and he watched Leah carefully, the way she was still smiling, her eyes shining with happiness. "Yeah? An' who was that?"

Leah stiffened, realizing she had said too much. "Ah… Don't worry about it. He never paid me any attention so I gave up on that a long time ago."

And now Daryl was really curious. "Who is he?" His eyes narrowed and he scooted until he was sitting right by Leah. "I won' tell Logan if that's what yer worried about."

"It's… It's not Logan I'm worrying over. It's just… You see…" Leah groaned and buried her face in her hands. "You have to promise you won't laugh at me."

Laugh at her? What the hell was she talking about? Unless she was harboring some secret crush on one of their old high school teachers, he didn't see why she would think he'd make fun of her in any way.

She took a deep breath and pulled her face free from her palms. "From the time I was about eight until I left for college, I had a big ass crush on one of my brother's best friends." Maybe it was the fact that they had grown closer over the last several weeks, or maybe it was just the fact that she literally had nothing else to lose, but Leah Murphy was hell-bent on spilling her guts to Daryl Dixon. "I thought he was the hottest guy ever, but he never thought of me as anything more than his friend's little sister, so that's probably why he treated me like I was just an annoying kid that couldn't be taken seriously."

Daryl's eyes kept narrowing as he tried to rack his brain for anyone who could have possibly fit that description. He just couldn't come up with anyone that Logan hung out with other than himself.

"I tried for years to get over it, to tell myself that he wasn't into me and he never would be interested in me like that. But for some reason I just couldn't get him out of my mind and I even dated a jerk during freshman year at college just because he kind of looked like him." Leah glanced at Daryl out of the corner of her eye, but she hadn't expected to find the younger Dixon brother staring at her with nothing but pure confusion. He couldn't be serious. He really didn't realize who she was talking about?

"Oh, for the love of…" Leah groaned and slapped a hand against her face before turning to face Daryl fully. "It's you, okay? I was madly in love with you for years, you dumbass! How could you never realize how much I liked you?! I even slept with the first guy in college that reminded me of you and then he broke my heart, but that was fine because I knew he wasn't really you!"

She quickly realized from the look of horror on his face that she had definitely said too much. "Shit… Forget it," she muttered while scrambling to her feet. "Just forget I said anything, please? I'll… I'm gonna go to sleep now. Would you make sure the fire's put out? We don't need any of those things finding our camp."

Without waiting for a response, Leah hurried to her tent, angrily wiping at the tears that threatened to come out. How could she be so stupid to tell him her deepest, darkest secret like that? Now she had made things incredibly awkward and he was sure to tell Logan everything. She had effectively ruined everything now! And for what? Did she actually think Daryl would suddenly stop seeing her as Logan's baby sister?

And when did she start caring what he thought of her again? She thought she had gotten over those childish feelings she had once held for him. No… No, this was too much for her to handle right now. She just needed to sleep and everything would be better in the morning. It just had to be.

What she didn't realize was that Daryl was staring hard at her retreating form, swallowing hard as he fought the urge to go after her and tell her everything was fine, but to be quite honest, he was confused as hell with what Leah had just dumped on him.

How could she have possibly had any kind of real feelings for him? And what the hell did that even mean?

"Damn it," he groaned while running a hand over his face. What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

XXXXX

 **So there's the next chapter! Hope y'all enjoyed it and if you did then feel free to leave a review. I do enjoy a good slowburn fic, but this won't be one of those and romance will soon blossom between Daryl and Leah so I hope you look forward to that! I so appreciate each and every review that y'all have left on my story so far. Next chapter is when things really start to progress as far as events in TWD, so stay tuned.**


	4. Chapter 4

"I wish you wouldn't go, but please promise me that you'll be careful out there!"

Leah couldn't help but snicker as Meemaw mussed with Logan's hair, all the while fussing over the much taller man. It was hilarious to watch as their very petite grandmother worried over her older grandchild much like a mother hen.

"But Meemaw," Logan ground out through grit teeth, appearing to be trying his hardest not to snap at his elderly grandmother. "This ain't the first run we've made and I'm pretty sure it won' be the last either. An' you know we need the supplies somethin' bad."

"Marie, just let the boy go already," Joel Murphy grumbled while gently pulling his wife away from their grandson. "He's more than capable of takin' care of himself."

Leah's grin quickly fell as Logan whirled around and gave her a glare, almost as if he knew that his little sister was laughing at him behind his back. She quietly shrugged, as though to say _'I didn't do anything'_. Leah's face brightened once again as her brother turned his back to her and he made his way to the others who were joining him on this run.

"I gotta say, your family's something else."

Leah sucked in a quick breath and glanced over her shoulder to find it was only Glenn Rhee standing there. "Shit Glenn, give a girl a warning next time you decide to sneak up on her."

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He held his hands up in defense, looking almost like a kicked puppy and Leah released the breath she had been holding in.

She knew she shouldn't have snapped at Glenn, he was just an innocent guy, but you just never knew when a walker would make a random appearance. Everyone in the camp was on edge, Leah and her entire family included in that. So, she forced a smile to her face and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I guess I'm just nervous about this run y'all are about to go on."

That seemed to perk Glenn right up and he offered Leah a wide grin. "No worries! I know you've gotta be worried for Logan, I mean, you never know if we're gonna come back after each run we go on."

Leah's eyes widened just slightly. She sucked in a quick breath and forced a smile to her face. "Y-Yeah…" Of course she knew her brother was more than able to take care of himself, he had always been pretty independent ever since she could remember, but there was always that small chance that he might not be able to make it back in one piece, a risk that he took every time he and Glenn went on runs for supplies. "I know my brother will always come back though, and there are people here who depend on me and need me to stay strong, so I can't stay behind and worry about Logan all the time."

"Yeah," Glenn murmured, giving Leah a crooked smile. "I guess it's nice to have family like that around you can depend on."

It was the way he said it, coupled with the look in his eye that gave Leah pause. She hadn't really had the chance to get to know Glenn, only knew that he had been a pizza delivery boy before the world went to shit. So it made her wonder about his life and family that he might have had previous to all of this. "Hey Glenn, what happened-"

"Yo, Glenn! We gotta move out 'fore we lose daylight!"

Leah and Glenn's attention went to Logan who was waving at the pair. Glenn waved back before calling out to Logan. "Right, I'm coming!" Turning back to Leah, his grin widened. "Well, duty calls and all that jazz. See you later, right?"

Leah forced a smile to her face and nodded. "Right, you all just make sure to come back in one piece." She playfully slugged his shoulder and watched as the younger man trotted over to the group where they began to ready themselves for the long trek into the city.

Normally, these runs into Atlanta didn't worry Leah so much, but the fact that fucking Merle Dixon was going on this particular run made her fear for her brother and the others in the group. She knew that if it came down to it, Merle would all too willingly sacrifice every single body in their group if it meant his own survival. And that realization worried the shit out of Leah. But she knew that she couldn't let Logan know just how worried she was for him, he wasn't her babysitter and she was a grown woman who could absolutely take care of herself.

It was during these inner musings that Leah felt a pair of eyes on her. Slowly, she turned her attention to the edge of the woods only to find Daryl staring hard at her. Damn, she had hoped to keep avoiding Daryl like she had for the past couple of weeks. Ever since that damn confession she made around the fire that night, it felt like he was making it his personal mission to be alone with Leah as often as he could, trying to talk to her.

Well, that shit wasn't gonna fly with Leah.

She turned on her heel and stomped toward the woods, trying to put as much distance between Daryl and herself as possible. Daryl might want to talk to her about her childhood crush and tease the living shit out of her for it, but she wasn't about to give him the chance.

As she got further away from the camp, she realized a quiet walk all by herself was just what she needed. It gave her time to clear her head and got her away from everyone back at the camp. Now it wasn't that she minded being around fellow survivors of whatever the hell was going on, but she did feel crowded at times with so many people around at all hours of every day that she really didn't know.

And to be perfectly honest, Leah really didn't have a great feeling about every individual that was at the camp…

She was suddenly torn from her inner musings by the feeling of a rough hand grabbing onto her elbow. Leah whirled around to fight off her would-be attacker, but stopped in place once she realized who it was.

Blue eyes narrowed and Leah scowled at Daryl before yanking her arm back. "Didn't take you for a stalker, Dixon."

Daryl grunted and allowed Leah to free herself of his grip and Leah turned her back to him once again. "Jus' wanted to make sure you didn' get too far away from camp. We still don' know what all's out here in these woods."

"Yeah, well you can see I'm fine so feel free to head back to camp." She muttered before taking another step forward, fully intent on leaving Daryl behind.

"Nah. Think I'll join you if that's alright. 'Sides, can't hurt to see if there're anymore deer worth bringin' back to camp out here."

She rolled her eyes, retort right on the tip of her tongue. He wasn't really serious, was he? Why would Daryl want to take a leisurely stroll in geek-infested woods with her of all people? If this was his idea of a joke, it wasn't funny.

But Leah's mouth hung open as Daryl walked right past her, heading deeper into the woods.

"Hurry up! Don' wanna be left behind fer th' geeks to snatch, do ya?"

What the actual hell? Was she in the Twilight Zone now? Leah shook her head and quickly hurried until she was right behind Daryl. There was no way she was going to let him leave her behind so easily, she'd probably never hear the end of it…

How long they walked in silence, Leah wasn't sure, but it felt like an eternity before Daryl finally put his arm out in front of Leah. He turned and placed a finger over his lips, an indication that he needed to be silent. She nodded her head and peered around Daryl's form to see what it was that he had found.

A twig snapped and Leah's eyes widened at the sight of a lone walker, slowly shuffling toward them. Blue eyes watched in anticipation for Daryl to leap into action and end the walker right then and there. The last thing Leah expected was for Daryl to slip a hunting knife into her hand and gesture for her to be the one to take it out.

"Are you insane," she hissed while trying to shove the knife back into Daryl's hand. "I've never killed one of them before! I can't do it!"

Daryl snorted and calmly walked behind Leah, moving until his form was almost flush with hers. "Listen, jus' follow my lead."

Leah felt herself stiffen, trying to keep herself calm even though she had absolutely no idea what the hell Daryl was up to. She watched as Daryl's arm moved down her own until his fingers wound around the hand that was still holding onto the knife.

"You gotta learn at some point to fend for yourself," he murmured. "What'll you do if you're all by yourself an' one of these things tries to getcha?"

She hated to admit it, but Daryl had a valid point. "But you and Logan will always be there, right?"

"But what if we're not?"

Damn. Damn damn damn. She hated this, but… Turning her attention toward the fast-approaching walker, she took a breath and allowed Daryl to guide her. They slowly walked toward the once person and Leah watched as her arm was lifted and sunk the knife into the walker's forehead and the body fell to the ground with no resistance.

Leah stared hard at the person and forced herself to swallow. After several years of working in an ER, it took a lot for her to get sick, but this… She felt arms wrap around her and Daryl guided her to a sitting position on the ground.

"Easy there, don' wantcha passin' out on me."

Ah, she must have looked like she was feeling faint. "I know," she licked her chapped lips. "I know this is something I'll have to learn to do, but…" She finally turned her gaze up to Daryl. "Is this really how our life has to be now?"

Daryl gave her a somber nod. "Yeah, afraid so, brat."

Leah gave a weak laugh at the use of the childhood nickname Logan and Daryl had given her so many years ago. "Haven't heard that in a long time. Does that mean you don't hate me?"

Daryl was suspiciously quiet for several long beats before he finally grunted and shifted to stand to his feet. "I've never hated you, brat."

She smirked and lifted a hand up to Daryl, feeling slightly less nauseous at that moment. "Well, should we head back to camp now? Or does Daryl Dixon have more to teach me?" Leah watched as Daryl gave her a lingering stare before finally jerking his head toward the woods.

"It'll be at least another day before Logan an' th' others come back, so if you're willin' to learn, I'll show you how to survive in this shitty world."

Leah couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth as she laughed. "Lead the way, Master Dixon. Teach this Padawan your ways."

The incredulous look on his face was priceless and Leah couldn't help but laugh as she followed Daryl deeper into the woods. It wasn't long before the duo came upon a clearing which Daryl stated would be good enough to be their campsite for the night. After catching a squirrel for their dinner, Leah and Daryl sat around a small fire and ate in silence.

As much as it surprised Leah to admit it, she hadn't entirely hated the time she and Daryl had spent in the woods together. He had even said that he would teach her how to shoot the crossbow at some point too, of course then he followed up with a joke about how her aim would probably suck and she'd probably shoot someone's eye out in the process.

"Do you think Logan's alright out there?" Leah finally spoke up, watching Daryl to gauge his reaction.

The younger Dixon shrugged his shoulders before tearing off another bite of his squirrel. "I wouldn' be worried 'bout Logan or Merle. Th' rest of 'em, I dunno if they'll all come back in one piece."

"Well, that's a comforting thought," Leah rolled her eyes. Of course she was worried for her brother, but if Daryl wasn't worried for his safety, then maybe he really would be alright.

"Stop worryin' so much." Leah blinked and glanced up to find Daryl staring hard at her. "I can see it all over your face, Logan'll be fine."

She forced a smile and nodded, even though that fear was still at the very back of her mind. All she could do was take Daryl's word that her big brother really would be safe out there in Atlanta.

There was a pregnant pause for a minute before Daryl cleared his throat and focused his attention on Leah. "So, what you said the other night… 'Bout when we were all growin' up together. I was just wonderin'-"

"So do you want me to take the first shift, or do you want to take the first shift?" Leah quickly changed the subject, not giving Daryl the opportunity to finish his thought.

Daryl's brow furrowed. "Wait, what're you talkin'-"

"Great! So you'll take the first shift and I'll take a quick little nap. Just wake me up when you're ready to switch and then I'll stay up. G'night!" Leah laid down and quickly turned on her side, keeping her back to Daryl so that he would hopefully think she was already asleep.

Of course, it didn't take very long for Leah to actually doze off in a deep sleep, completely unaware of Daryl scooting slightly closer to her. As Leah mumbled something in her sleep, he couldn't help but give a soft chuckle before turning his gaze back to the fire.

Little did Leah know, Daryl was going to talk to her about everything she had opened up to him about before, one way or another.

XXXXX

The following morning, Daryl had taken the liberty of killing a dozen or so squirrels to take back to the camp later that day, and now he had taken it upon himself to teach Leah how to use his crossbow. Of course his lessons had had plenty of hit or misses, and now Leah was going to attempt to kill something herself for the first time…

"Alright, now make sure you've got a good hold on the bow, an' don' pull th' trigger until you're sure you're ready to pull it."

"I got it," Leah hissed under her breath, trying to keep a steady grip on the heavy crossbow. Her target was a doe several yards away.

"No you don'," Daryl grumbled before slipping behind Leah, making sure his arms held Leah's up.

That was the last thing she expected and Leah jerked, her finger pulling on the trigger and the arrow flying off in the opposite direction the doe was. This noise scared the doe off and she ran away from the pair, leaving Leah and Daryl staring at one another with narrowed eyes.

"What the hell, Daryl? I told you I had it," Leah snapped at the dark-haired hunter who had snatched his crossbow back from her.

"An' I knew you didn't. An' you let our dinner run off!"

Leah's eyes narrowed to slits at the accusation. " _Excuse me_? If you had just let me handle it then I know I could've gotten that deer! But you," she angrily shoved Daryl away from her before she could stop herself. "Just had to intervene when I didn't need you to!"

Daryl's eyes slightly widened and he turned his gaze to his chest where Leah had shoved him. His eyes darkened and he stomped toward Leah, watching as she quickly backed up and pressed her back against the trunk of a tree. "You know that if it weren' fer me lookin' out for your ass, you'd probably be dead by now?"

Leah felt her heart shrivel inside her at the accusation, but she couldn't let on that what he said bothered her so much, even if there was a tiny bit of truth to it. "Screw you, Daryl! If I'm such a burden, then why don't you just let me die already?"

"Yer so damn annoyin', don't you realize not everythin's about you, brat?"

"And with the exception of your idiot brother, you're the most infuriating jackass I've ever met," Leah quipped right back at Daryl, eyes blazing as she leaned forward. "So I guess we're even then!"

"You," Daryl hissed, leaning in closer toward Leah before stopping. It seemed as though he finally realized the situation he had put himself in, with his form pressed almost too firmly against Leah's.

Leah too seemed to realize where they were right then, with her back pushed against a tree and Daryl looming over her. The pair stopped and silently regarded one another.

Leah swallowed hard, fingers curling against the tree behind her and watching Daryl's bright eyes flick down to her lips before quickly glancing back up at her own blue eyes again. It felt as though he were seriously contemplating something before he sucked in a deep breath after what felt like minutes.

"We should prob'ly head back," he murmured before slowly pulling away from Leah. "Think we got enough meat to bring back to camp to last us for a couple days at least."

She found she couldn't speak, her mouth was so damn dry that all she could do was nod and swallow hard. When Daryl turned his back to her and leaned down to pick up the squirrels they had killed. Once he had them slung over his back, he began to walk back to the camp and Leah forced herself to follow in suit, making sure to keep a considerable distance behind him. She reached a shaky hand to her chest, silently willing her heart to stop beating so damn fast.

She had gotten over that damn childhood crush of hers years ago, hadn't she? Of course she had! So there was absolutely no reason for her to be acting like she was back in high school, daydreaming about the object of her affections actually returning her feelings and plotting the deaths of every girl that Daryl had gone out with.

Damn, maybe she needed to take the advice her former coworkers from the hospital kept giving her and get laid at some point. She felt her gaze wander toward Daryl's ass and she couldn't help but stare at it. Daryl really did have a nice behind, perfectly shaped and the way it looked when he walked in those pants he was wearing…

She quickly shook her head. Scratch that. Leah needed to get laid ASAP.

XXXXX

 _Meanwhile in Atlanta_

Logan's eyes narrowed, face turning into an ugly snarl at the newcomer that Glenn brought inside the store. "You realize you've probably jus' killed us all, right?" The question was directed at the new face, realizing quickly that he was probably the one behind all the gunfire that was sure to alert the dead to their location.

"You just rang the dinner bell!" Andrea seethed and Logan rolled his eyes, had to forcefully pull the blonde back in order to keep her from doing something stupid.

"Knock it off, Andrea," Logan snapped at her, ignoring the way she glowered at him. "I'm gonna need you to calm th' fuck down!"

There had to be a reason for Glenn's decision to bring this stranger into their midst, he couldn't be so fucking stupid as to risk all of their lives for no damn good reason, right? But before Logan could even begin to interrogate the man, everyone's attention quickly went to the geeks that were slamming themselves against the glass pane doors.

Logan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and keep a level head. He had to get back to the camp, get back to his grandparents and to Leah. He was their only real line of protection and he'd be damned if some stranger got him killed before he could see his family again. His gaze turned to the new face once again, blue eyes narrowed as he reached out and tugged on the man's arm. "Look," he licked his lips before speaking again. "Most of us have family an' friends that we'd like to get back to, so I need you need to start talkin', and fast. What th' hell were you doin' out there?"

The man nodded and took a deep breath, ready to tell his story. "Yeah, well you see…"

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 **Sorry it's been a minute since I've updated! I've started a new job, begun fertility treatments in the hopes of starting a family and overall life has just gotten in the way unfortunately. I hope there's still interest in this story because I'm definitely not giving up on it, especially since I absolutely love writing for Leah and Daryl (and especially love writing Logan), and next chapter is when things start progressing in a more positive direction. (Sort of.)**

 **Also, what do y'all think of the current season of TWD? I love it so far, but I'm ready for some action soon!**


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